HAVING REGARD to Articles 3, 5 a) and 5 b)
of the Convention on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
of 14 December 1960;

HAVING REGARD to the Decision of the Council
of 13 February 1973 on Protection of the Environment by Control of
Polychlorinated Biphenyls [C(73)1(Final)];

HAVING REGARD to the Recommendation of the
Council of 28 September 1976 on a Comprehensive Waste Management Policy
[C(76)155(Final)];

HAVING REGARD to the results of the PCB
Seminar hosted by the Netherlands under patronage of the OECD in Scheveningen,
Netherlands, 28-30 September 1983;

HAVING REGARD to the Decision-Recommendation of the Council of 1 February 1984 on
Transfrontier Movements of Hazardous Waste [C(83)180(Final)];

HAVING REGARD to the Recommendation of the
Council of 4 April 1984 concerning Information Exchange Related to Export of
Banned or Severely Restricted Chemicals [C(84)37(Final)];

HAVING REGARD to the Resolution of the
Council of 20 June 1985 on International Co-operation concerning Transfrontier
Movements of Hazardous Waste [C(85)100];

HAVING REGARD to operative paragraphs 3, 6
and 7 of the Declaration on Environment: Resource for the Future, of 20 June
1985, adopted by the Governments of OECD Member countries and of Yugoslavia at
the meeting of the Environment Committee at Ministerial level;

CONSIDERING that current controls of
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have not led to a clear and consistent
downward trend of environmental levels of PCBs, except in certain local
situations, and that previous concerns about environmental contamination by
PCBs, and their health and environmental effects, remain unabated;

CONSIDERING that new concerns have arisen
over the use of PCBs, particularly in situations where highly toxic products
such as chlorinated dioxins or chlorinated dibenzofurans might be produced by
their decomposition in fires;

CONSIDERING that the ultimate objective of
international action to control PCBs is to eliminate entirely their release to
the environment;

CONSIDERING, therefore, the need for
additional, more stringent measures to control new and existing uses of PCBs
and the disposal of PCBs and wastes containing PCBs;

CONSIDERING that alternatives exist, and
are being used, for the major industrial and commercial applications of PCBs;

CONSIDERING that the desirability of
withdrawing PCBs from use must be balanced against the feasibility of taking
such action without increasing the risk of environmental contamination by PCBs
and must take due account of the availability of appropriate disposal
facilities;

On the proposal of the
Environment Committee;

I. Uses of PCBs

A. New Uses of PCBs

1. DECIDES that,
in respect of new uses of PCBs, Member countries shall ensure that not later
than 1st January 1989 the following activities cease:

The manufacture, import, export and
sale of:

a) PCBs;

b) Products, articles or equipment
containing PCBs; and

c) Equipment which specifically
requires the use of PCBs;

Except for the following cases:

i) For research purposes or use as a
reference standard;

ii) For the export or import of waste
fluids or other waste containing or contaminated by PCBs, for the sole purpose
of disposal; or

iii) If the competent authority of a
Member country has received a request for a derogation from these provisions
and, on the basis of the information submitted in support of this request, has
authorized such a derogation for a limited period of time after having ensured
that:

-No
alternative to PCBs exists for the proposed use;

-No
significant amount of PCBs would reach the environment during the proposed use
and subsequent disposal; and

-Human
health or environment would not be endangered as a result of the proposed use.

B. Existing Uses of
PCBs

1. DECIDES that,
in respect of existing uses of PCBs, Member countries shall ensure that
appropriate controls are applied to such uses, as well as to any associated
storage and transport, in order to prevent the release of PCBs into the
environment or fires involving PCBs.

2. RECOMMENDS
that, in respect of existing uses of PCBs, Member countries take steps to
accelerate the withdrawal of PCBs from use, particularly where potential
accidents or leaks could endanger human health or the environment, in so far as
such withdrawal would not otherwise increase the risk of environmental
contamination by PCBs.

II. Products, Articles
or Equipment Contaminated by PCBs

1. DECIDES that
Member countries shall apply control measures to products, articles or
equipment contaminated by PCBs in order to reduce contamination in such items
to levels which do not endanger human health or the environment.

2. RECOMMENDS that
Member countries ensure that for contaminated fluids and soils, the levels of
contamination are no greater than 50 parts per million.

III. Disposal of PCBs
and other Wastes Containing PCBs

1. DECIDES that
Member countries shall ensure that disposal of waste fluids and solids
containing PCBs at levels greater than 100 parts per million and of equipment
which has contained PCBs and has not been adequately cleaned, is carried out in
adequate disposal facilities by means of high temperature incineration, or a
comparably effective method, in a manner which does not endanger human health
or the environment.

2. RECOMMENDS
that, as far as practicable, Member countries ensure that the disposal of
wastes containing or contaminated by PCBs at levels of 100 parts per million or
less is carried out in adequate disposal facilities and in a manner that avoids
the release of PCBs into the environment.

3. DECIDES that
Member countries shall prohibit the deliberate dilution of wastes containing
PCBs where such activity is intended to contravene Section III.1 of this
Decision-Recommendation or disregard Section III.2 of this Decision-Recommendation.

4. RECOMMENDS
that Member countries strengthen their efforts to ensure that facilities exist
for effective disposal of PCBs and wastes containing PCBs.

IV. Implementation and
Review

1. DECIDES that
Member countries shall inform each other of any derogations from the controls
on new uses of PCBs as set out in Section I.A.iii) of this
Decision-Recommendation.

2. RECOMMENDS
that Member countries exchange information on new developments concerning the
control of PCB use, storage, transport and safe disposal.

3. INVITES
Member countries to inform the Organisation of any derogations from the
controls on new uses of PCBs as set out in Section I.A.iii) of this
Decision-Recommendation.

4. INSTRUCTS the
Environment Committee to pursue a programme of work to facilitate the practical
implementation of the provisions of Section III of this
Decision-Recommendation.

5. INSTRUCTS the
Environment Committee to review actions taken by Member countries in pursuance
of this Decision-Recommendation, including the granting of derogations, and to
report thereon to Council in 1990.